Firefighters Battle India Plant Fire 22 Hours Straight

Firefighters in Punjabi capital of Ludhiana labored more than 22 hours to extinguish a fire at a hosiery plant Tuesday afternoon.

At around 6:30 p.m. Monday fire broke out at Vallabh Hosiery in the Ludhiana neighborhood of Sundar Nagar, local media report. Flames raced through an inventory of cotton and polyester stored on site.

Forty firefighters using ten fire tenders converged on the scene to battle the blaze. Firefighters responding from surrounding communities needed nearly an hour to reach the fire due to heavy traffic on local roadways.

Water and access hindered firefighting operations. Only a single doorway allowed access to the interior of the burning structure, forcing firefighters to break through the walls to reach the blaze inside.

The narrow street leading past the plant was still another bottleneck with which firefighters were forced to contend.

A lack of available water at the fire scene forced tenders to return to the fire station to refill, making nearly 150 trips during the emergency, the Hindustan Times reports.